More than 1,000 protesting gold miners who spent the night at Shwe Myay Tin Pagoda in Mandalay Division have been surrounded by around 100 police officers, one of the miners told The Irrawaddy on Tuesday. The standoff began on Monday at midnight and by the morning, the protesters were neither allowed to go out nor was food and water allowed to be brought in. The gold miners had marched from mines in Moehit Moemi Taung, also in Mandalay Division, and were en route to Naypyidaw.